EN
The aim of the article is to discuss on the basis of German and Polish law the consequences of the death of a business owner, when their business activity is closely linked to their skills and abilities, and such business activity had to be, after the business owner.s death, terminated or limited by their heirs. The article discusses the problem whether the heirs of the business owner can claim compensation from the person who was responsible for the death of the business owner under the tort law. It describes mainly the issue whether and when such a tort-feasor caused damage to the business owner’s estate and whether and when a claim for compensation for such damage could pass to the owner’s heirs. This issue is discussed based of the facts and reasoning of the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) judgment of 20 February 1962, VI ZR 65/61. A compari-son of the BGH ruling and the opinions expressed in the German doctrine about this issue with corresponding opinions expressed in the Polish doctrine indicates that under both German and Polish law, claims for compensation resulting from the death of a business owner connected with the inability of their heirs to im-plement economic plans previously assumed by the business owner are not subject to inheritance. In such cases, no legal position arises during the life of the business owner into which his heirs can be introduced by virtue of law. It could not be argued that a legal situation was created before the business owner’s death from which claims could arise for the heirs after the business owner.s death. Neither could the existence of any future right on the owner’s part be compounded. These claims in both legal systems only arise after the death of the business owner as a result of the activity of the heirs. Therefore, the solutions of Polish and Ger-man law in this regard can be considered similar.